November 2010

Stepping through the fort's arched entryway transports visitors to another era. The fort's four-acre site overlooks the Elizabeth River and includes earthwork embankments, ramparts, a dungeon, officers' quarters, powder magazine, barracks, and guardhouse. Most structures in the fort date to 1810. The fort helped protect Norfolk during the War of 1812 as well. In the Civil War, Confederate forces seized the fort and used its magazine to supply the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) during its battle with the USS Monitor. In 1862, the fort was recaptured by the Union Army and used as a prison. In 1923, the fort was occupied by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which still owns Fort Norfolk. The Norfolk Historical Society began making restorations to the fort in 1991.

Located in the Ghent section of Norfolk, this is the last remaining of 19 harbor forts authorized in 1794 by President Washington. Overlooking the Elizabeth River, the four-acre site includes earth embankments, ramparts, a dungeon, officers' quarters, a powder magazine, barracks, and a guardhouse. Most structures date back to 1810.

The El Paso Museum of History contains numerous exhibits about various parts of local history, including exhibits that detail El Paso heritage as a whole and exhibits that delve into specific aspects of the local story, such as the Butterfield Trail. It promotes the understanding and significance of the rich multicultural and multinational history of the border region known as The Pass of the North.

The site on which the Moore House now stands was first patented by Governor John Harvey in the 1630's, and was once named "York Plantation." A century later, it was part of a 500 acre plantation called "Temple Farm" where Lawrence Smith II built a family home. In 1754, the estate passed to Smith's son, Robert. By 1760, however, Robert found himself in financial straits, and was forced to sell the farm that had been in his family for three generations. He sold the 500 acre estate to his brother-in-law, Augustine Moore. However, the most noted significance of the home was the surrender of the Revolutionary War in 1781.

The Freedom Museum USA preserves and exhibits items of historical nature pertaining to America's war efforts, as well as providing a history of the Pampa Army Air Field in relation to WWII.

All branches of the United States Armed Forces are represented in the Freedom Museum USA. Exhibits of both official and private memorabilia from military and civilian sources offer a well-rounded view of American military history.

The Chrysler Museum of Art combines one of America's great fine arts museums and two significant historic houses. In addition to maintaining a distinguished permanent collection, the Chrysler offers a comprehensive program of changing exhibitions and education activities for visitors of all ages. Notable are the collections of European and American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts; Art Nouveau furniture, an impressive glass collection, and works of art from African, Egpytian, pre-Columbian, Islamic, and Asian cultures.

This museum covers all of U.S. military history, including the roles of women and African-Americans.

American military history from 1775 to the present is highlighted through weapons, vehicles, uniforms, insignia and much more. Visitors can see a section of the Berlin Wall and a portion of the outer wall from Dachau Concentration Camp. Galleries on display on the museum include "Women at War" and "Marches Toward Freedom", exploring the roles of women and African-Americans in the military, and "Visions of War", the Museum's outstanding propaganda poster collection.

The U. S. Army Transportation Museum is houses a collections of vehicles and other U. S. Army transportation-related equipment and memorabilia. The museum was established in 1959, in a warehouse using items initially collected for a recruiting exhibit, and got a main building in 1976. An open-air pavilion foraviation exhibits opened in 1987. Visitors can enter Fort Eustis to see the museum and four outdoor parks filled with more than 100 trucks, vessels, trains, aircraft, and other cargo handling equipment. The exhibits inside the museum building include representative transportation-related materials, presented in a series of dioramas in chronological order.

A large and comprehensive maritime history museum, this treasure house contains an impressive collection, including figureheads, sip models, and small craft from around the world. The remains of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor have a permanent home in the museum's new USS Monitor Center. The museum offers several exhibitions within its personal collection. The "Age of Exploration" exhibit chronicles the developments in shipbuilding, ocean navigation, and cartography that made the voyages of the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries possible. Ship models, rare books, illustrations, maps, navigational instruments, and other artifacts help bring the gallery to life.

The Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library complex is located in the heart of Lancaster County on Virginia’s Northern Neck. The Museum/Library was established in 1958 and took the name Mary Ball Washington to honor the mother of the nation's first president. Mary Ball was born in Lancaster County, just eight miles from the museum. The museum seeks to recapture the stories and the rich history of the people of Virginia's Northern Neck.

The Museum’s collections include several historically significant buildings in the village of Lancaster Court House. Every item, every aspect, has a story and a connection proving that history is neither static nor carved in stone. New stories surface, like arrowheads long buried, providing constant shifting of information that gives vitality to history.

Visitors can partake in activities offered through the museum, including educational programs, exhibits, living history presentations, tours, research and writing.

The major focus of the Pamunkey Indian Museum is to teach about the Pamunkey people and their way of life throughout history, from the ice age to the present. Tools and other items are shown as they would have been seen and used by the Native Americans of that period. Original artifacts are displayed along with replicas based on the most up-to-date information on how things were made, handled, used, and worn out.

Built to resemble the houses of the ancient Pamunkey, the museum now houses their story. Set within the quiet confines of the reservation, the museum is the only documented history of a tribe that has existed on its present homeland since the Ice Ages and played a significant leadership role in the activities of Virginia's Native American population throughout history.